Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
CHAPTER 5
GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
HUMAN BRAIN
Development
Growth and Differentiation of the
Nervous System
Early differentiation
Cell germ layers ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm
Neural plate, neural groove, neural tube
Cell migration
Guided by radial glia
Cells in cerebral cortex arrive in an inside-out fashion
Development
Differentiation
Differentiation of the dorsal and ventral halves
of neural tube
Differentiation of the neural tube along the
rostral-caudal axis
Development
Formation of Synapses
Interaction with target cells influences the type
of neurotransmitter released by the presynaptic
cell
Movement of receptors to the synaptic site
guided by chemical release by presynaptic and
postsynaptic structures
Cell Death
Apoptosis = programmed cell death
Neurotrophins influence the survival of a neuron
Development
Synaptic Pruning
Number of functional synapses is reduced
Myelination
Occurs in rostral direction starting with the
spinal cord, then hindbrain, midbrain, and
forebrain
Burst in myelination around the time of birth
Prefrontal cortex not completely myelinated
until early adulthood
Genetic Disorders
Down syndrome
Fragile-X syndrome
PKU
Environmental Toxins
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Redevelopment in Response to
Damage
Anterograde degeneration, retrograde
degeneration, and transneuronal
degeneration
Genetic therapy and Nogo inhibitors as
possible treatments